The man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul with a hammer early Friday morning is a former nudist from British Columbia who has struggled with drugs and posted crazed COVID conspiracy theories, anti-Semitic rants, racist slurs and unhinged screeds on religion online.
Police said they arrested hemp jewelry maker David DePape, 42, after he broke into the Pelosis’ $6million San Francisco home in at 2.27 am in his underwear and beat 82-year-old Paul Pelosi with a hammer while shouting ‘where’s Nancy’.
Cops say were at the property in the exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood when they saw the suspect grapple with Pelosi, take the hammer and then hit him with it, causing severe head, arm and hand injuries.
When they arrested Depape, they found a manifesto that contained anti-government COVID beliefs and a list of other politicians he planned to target, KTVU reported.
Pelosi was taken into surgery to repair a skull fracture after the attack but is expected to make a full recovery, while DePape is in custody and set to be charged with multiple felonies including attempted homicide.
President Joe Biden called the attack ‘horrible’ and Republican and Democrats condemned the violence as the House Speaker rushed from DC to San Francisco to be at her husband’s side.
DePape grew up north of the border but moved from British Columbia to California 20 years ago. He followed a love interest, his stepfather told CNN, and family members have insisted he was a ‘good kid’.
He ended up in the Berkeley area, an ultra-liberal enclave of the city, where he lived in a three-bedroom Victorian flat with famed nudist activist Gypsy Taub and a group who believed 9/11 was an ‘inside job’.
A November 2008 article in the Oakland Tribune reported that he had ‘three small children’ with Russian-born Taub. She was quoted in the article on community meals saying: ‘In Russia, where I am from, people share more, and I want my kids to grow up knowing sharing.’
Taub and her fiance Jaymz Smith tapped DePape to be their best man at their nudist wedding in 2013, but he stayed dressed and took photos during the ceremony that attracted a huge police presence.
An acquaintance of his told CNN that DePape was struggling with hard drugs about eight years ago but was ‘trying to create a new life for himself.’ She said she cut off contact with DePape after receiving ‘disturbing’ emails in which he sounded ‘dangerous’ and ‘out of touch with reality.’
His social media showed he posted conspiracy theories about the origins of the covid epidemic, about the validity of the 2020 election, and on the January 6th insurrection on Capitol Hill.
He first began posting on a blog titled ‘God Is Loving’ in June 2007 with rambling screeds about religion. He stopped posting for 15 years – then suddenly started again on August 24 this year with racist, sexist, anti-semitic and crazed entries about the Q-Anon conspiracy theory.
David DePape, 42, was identified as the man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul with a hammer at their San Francisco home in the early hours of Friday morning
DePape, right, is seen at a naked wedding on the steps of City Hall in December 2013
DePape is pictured with the bride, Gypsy Taub, at her wedding to Jaymz Smith in December 2013
DePape is seen filming the wedding in December 2013, on the steps of San Francisco City Hall
Pelosi was taken into brain surgery after the attack but is expected to make a full recovery, while DePape is set to be charged with multiple felonies including attempted homicide. He is pictured with Nancy at the Time 100 Gala in 2019
The Pelosis own a four-bedroom San Francisco home that sits in the middle of her congressional district and was purchased in 2007 for $2.2 million but is thought to be worth at least $6 million now
Aerial footage showed broken panes and shatter glass at the backdoor of Pelosi’s home
He posted obscene versions of Disney songs from YouTube including one titled: ‘Do you want to **** a snowman?’ He posted a screed containing the n-word, and a post titled ‘This is what a dumb b***h looks like’. Others were titled: ‘Noah survived the collapse of Atlantis’, ‘Pedophile normalization’, ‘Facts are Racist’, ‘Communist Voodoo science’, ‘I’m not sexist’ and ‘Feminist gets owned’.
On a separate blog he set up called Frenly Frens, he wrote unhinged entries on how ‘Jews hate whites’, and several posts about Donald Trump, including one that said: ‘Trump you NEEEEEEEED to make Tulsi your VP in 2024.’
He defended former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty of killing George Floyd.
DePape called Chauvin’s trial ‘a modern lynching’ and falsely indicated that Floyd died of a drug overdose.
He also posted long screeds about religion, including claims that ‘Jesus is the anti christ.’ When DePaper broke into the Pelosis’ home, he was shouting ‘Where is Nancy? Where’s Nancy?’
Speaker Pelosi was in Washington D.C. when Paul Pelosi, 82, was brutally attacked. He was taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and underwent brain surgery, NBC News reported.
The speaker’s office said he is expected to recover. Nancy Pelosi was able to speak with her husband before his operation, CNN reported.
DePape, meanwhile, will be booked at the San Francisco County jail on several charges, including-attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, and additional felonies.
DePape entered the Pelosi residence through a sliding glass door at the back of the house. Aerial footage showed broken panes of smashed glass at a door to their home.
His target was Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Instead, DePape found her husband of 59 years.
He confronted Paul Pelosi, yelling: ‘Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?.’ DePape tried to tie up Paul Pelosi ‘until Nancy got home.’ When police arrived, the suspect told them: ‘We’re waiting for Nancy,’ CNN reported.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott indicated there was some type of confrontation between the two men involving a hammer. But it was unclear who the hammer belonged to – if DePape brought it with him or if Paul Pelosi had it for defensive reasons.
Scott said when his officers entered the home, they ‘observed Mr. Pelosi and the suspect both holding a hammer. The suspect pulled the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and violently assaulted him with it. Our officers immediately tackled the suspect, disarmed him, took him into custody, requested emergency backup and rendered medical aid.’
Scott noted ‘the motive for this attack is still being determined.’ He did not answer any questions when he made a short statement to the media.
FBI agents work outside the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi where her husband Paul Pelosi was ‘violently assaulted’ after a break-in at their house
San Francisco police officers and FBI agents in front of Pelosi’s home on Friday morning – U.S. Capitol Police are also working with the officers on the investigation
Staff members of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including Pelosi’s Chief of Staff Terri McCullough, second from right, hug outside of the Capitol on Friday
As speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has a fulltime security detail with her but her husband would not have federal protection. She is a longtime political target. During the January 6th insurrection, MAGA supporters storming the Capitol shouted ‘where’s Nancy’ and they broke into her office, looking for her.
President Joe Biden spoke with Speaker Pelosi Friday morning. He condemned the violence.
‘The President is praying for Paul Pelosi and for Speaker Pelosi’s whole family,’ said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement. ‘This morning he called Speaker Pelosi to express his support after this horrible attack. He is also very glad that a full recovery is expected. The President continues to condemn all violence, and asks that the family’s desire for privacy be respected.’
The San Francisco home of the millionaire couple has been the frequent target of protests.
In January 2021, a pig’s head was left outside her garage door with red paint in a demonstration saying $2,000 COVID relief checks were not enough.
Paul Pelosi made headlines earlier this year when he was arrested for DUI in Napa Valley when he crashed his Porsche near one of the properties in their portfolio.
Meanwhile, political attacks have been on the rise this year. And, in the wake of the attack on Paul Pelosi, U.S. Capitol Police are assessing additional security options for the protection of families of congressional leadership.
Currently, there is no formal protection for families or staff for members of Congress. Private security can be paid for out of campaign funds.
Lawmakers from both political parties have faced threats.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida claimed that one of his supporters was attacked while out canvassing this week. And Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger said he’s received death threats against himself and his family after serving on the committee investigating the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol.
‘Early this morning, an assailant broke into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco and violently assaulted Mr. Pelosi,’ Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said in a statement Friday.
A booking photo provided by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office shows Paul Pelosi on May 29, 2022, following his arrest on suspicion of DUI in Northern California; he pled guilty to driving under the influence and was sentenced to three years probation and five days of jail time, getting credit for time served
‘The assailant is in custody and the motivation for the attack is under investigation. Mr. Pelosi was taken to the hospital, where he is receiving excellent medical care and is expected to make a full recovery,’ Hammill added.
The family requested privacy.
‘The Speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time,’ Hammill said.
Well wishes poured in for the 82-year-old.
‘What happened to Paul Pelosi was a dastardly act,’ Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. ‘I spoke with Speaker Pelosi earlier this morning and conveyed my deepest concern and heartfelt wishes to her husband and their family, and I wish him a speedy recovery.’
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said he was ‘horrified’ at the news.
‘Horrified and disgusted by the reports that Paul Pelosi was assaulted in his and Speaker Pelosi’s home last night. Grateful to hear that Paul is on track to make a full recovery and that law enforcement including our stellar Capitol Police are on the case,’ McConnell said.
Upscale Pacific Heights, where the Pelosis own their home, has not been immune from a crime wave hitting San Francisco. In recent months a nearby neighbor revealed how he was robbed at gunpoint outside his own mansion in the area.
Major crimes in San Francisco are up 7.4 percent so far this year from the same period in 2021, with assault up 11.1 percent and robbery up 5.2 percent.
Amid scenes of misery on city streets, where drug use is brazen and homelessness is rampant, a recent poll found that a majority of San Franciscans believe their city is going down hill, and a third plan to leave the city within three years.
Pelosi had just returned this week from a security conference in Europe. She was scheduled to keynote Human Rights Campaign dinner on Saturday evening in Washington with Vice President Kamala Harris but canceled that appearance.
She is also one of the most well-known members of the House and is a frequent Republican target in election years, when they attempt to tie Democratic candidates to the liberal speaker from San Francisco.
It’s not the first time the Pelosi home has been targeted.
In January of last year, the Pelosis’ Pacific Heights home was vandalized overnight with a pig’s head surrounded in a pool of red paint, as well as a spray-painted message appearing to allude to the failed $2,000 stimulus checks.
After the January 6th insurrection that saw Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters swarm the Capitol to try and stop the certification of the presidential election, lawmakers were given greater leniency to spend their campaign funds on security.
And threats of physical violence increased.
In the five years after Trump was elected president in 2016, the number of recorded threats against members of Congress increased more than tenfold, to 9,625 in 2021, according to figures from the Capitol Police.
In the first quarter of 2022, the latest period for which figures were available, the force opened 1,820 cases, the New York Times found.
Republican Senator Susan Collins had her home vandalized with a storm window broken this election year.
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if a senator or House member were killed,’ Collins told The New York Times earlier this month. ‘What started with abusive phone calls is now translating into active threats of violence and real violence.’
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, a frequent target of Trump’s wrath, has spent $70,000 on security measures.
Democratic Rep. Cori Bush, a prominent black liberal, has spent the most among House lawmakers: close to $400,000. She has said she’s received multiple death threats.
Pig’s head with red paint, pro-choice protesters, YouTube pranksters and threats around January 6: How Nancy Pelosi and her San Francisco home have been the target of constant demonstrations and stunts
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has long been a target of threats, and her San Francisco home has been vandalized, smeared with fake blood while becoming a focal point for protesters for months.
Sometimes it has been a venue for brash political statements. Other times, threats directed against the Speaker have drawn the attention of federal law enforcement.
Pelosi was the target threats both before and during the Capitol riot, and the Capitol Police, whom she helps oversee along with other congressional leaders, have long been trained on potential threats against her.
One such incident occurred on New Years’ Day, 2021, when vandals left fake blood and what appeared to be a pig’s head outside her home in San Francisco’s exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood.
They scrawled: ‘$2K’, ‘Cancel rent!’ and ‘We want everything,’ in an apparent reference to $2,000 COVID relief checks. The Speaker was seeking to boost covid relief checks at the time.
In January of last year, Nancy Pelosi ‘s San Francisco home has been vandalized with red paint, a pigs head and a spray painted message
A slogan spray-painted on her home appeared to reference the push for more COVID relief
Some other protests have been more civil. Homeless advocates placed an ‘eviction notice’ on her $6 million mansion last August as they demanded Congress extend a pandemic eviction moratorium, in a city with an acute homeless problem.
Last spring, after a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion that would strike down Roe v. Wade, pro-choice protesters gathered outside her house to accuse her of failing to do anything about it. The Supreme Court would ultimately vote to overturn the abortion ruling, but the Senate lacked the votes to try to force through legislation to codify previous protections, notwithstanding Pelosi’s own views on the matter.
Sometimes protesters opted for humor. They hung hair dryers from a tree in front of her home and donned hair curlers after she was spotted visiting a salon that was closed due to the pandemic.
Pelosi’s hometown, a liberal bastion, has a long tradition of political activism and protest. In December 2021 she was interrupted by a protester screaming ‘Let’s Go Brandon,’ a statement that has become a stand-in for an expletive about Joe Biden
There have also been physical threats against the speaker. She has spent decades in office and is often elevated by her political rivals as the face of the opposition.
Pelosi’s home town of San Francisco has a long tradition of protest. In December 2021 she was interrupted by a protester screaming ‘Let’s Go Brandon,’ a statement that has become a stand-in for an expletive about Joe Biden
During the Capitol riot on January 6, rioters could be heard yelling, ‘Nancy! Oh Nancy! Where are you Nancy?’
People who penetrated the building ended up busting into Pelosi’s Capitol office, sitting in her chair, and removing items including a laptop and a podium.
Adam Johnson, who took the podium, was sentenced to 75 days in prison.
Dawn Lee Bancroft, who entered the Capitol and recorded herself saying she wanted to ‘shoot Pelosi in the friggin brain,’ was sentenced to 60 days in prison.
Richard Barnett, who was photographed sitting in Pelosi’s chair inside her Capitol office, goes to trial in December. He has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges connected to the riot.
On January 4, 2021, the Secret Service found a Parler account that included threats to lawmakers including Pelosi. It stated: ‘ January 6 starts #1776 all over again…Fight for EVERYTHING.’ It also listed ‘Enemies’ including Pelosi, according to Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington.
It wasn’t until January 6 that U.S. Capitol Police received the post, according to CREW.
The long string of threats and protests came before the violent break-in early Friday, at a time when Congress is out of session and Pelosi has been campaigning around the country for Democrats.
‘Early this morning, an assailant broke into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco and violently assaulted Mr. Pelosi,’ Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill, said in a statement. ‘The assailant is in custody and the motivation for the attack is under investigation,’
‘Mr. Pelosi was taken to the hospital, where he is receiving excellent medical care and is expected to make a full recovery,’ Hammill said.
A statement from Capitol Police said it was assisting the FBI and San Francisco Police in a joint investigation into the break-in.
‘The Speaker was in Washington, D.C. with her protective detail at the time of the overnight, break-in. During the California break-in, the Speaker’s husband was assaulted, but he is now recovering. The San Francisco Police Department has the suspect in custody. The motivation for the attack is still under investigation,’ according to Capitol Police.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said the suspect will be charged with multiple felonies – including attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, and elder abuse
Police tape is seen in front of the San Francisco home of Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Officers are investigating a motivation on the attack on Paul Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi (2nd L) and Paul Pelosi (2nd R) attend Global Citizen Festival 2022 in New York in September with grandchildren Paul and Thomas
Paul Pelosi, seen in the Capitol in March, was left with significant injuries but is expected to recover
Paul and Nancy Pelosi married in 1963 and have five children; above they are seen together in London last year when she had meetings at 10 Downing Street
Speaker Pelosi was a target during the January 6th insurrection; above Richard Barnett, a supporter of Donald Trump, sits at her desk in the Capitol building
Often at Speaker Pelosi’s side at political events, Paul Pelosi is a businessman based in the Bay Area. He and Speaker Pelosi married in 1963 and have five children.
The couple owns a four-bedroom San Francisco home that sits in the middle of her congressional district and was purchased in 2007 for $2.2 million but is thought to be worth at least $6 million now.
Pelosi is one of the wealthiest members of Congress with a fortune of $29.3 million according to an analysis of her financial disclosure forms by Roll Call.
She and Paul Pelosi own multiple properties spread over several states. She spends most of her time in Washington D.C where she has a $2.6 million condo in the upscale Georgetown district.
The couple also have a 65-acre wine estate in St Helena, 65 miles north of San Francisco, that boasts a Palladian style house and a Z shaped pool.
According to Roll Call, the property is now worth between $5 million and $2 million and provides the Pelosis with an annual windfall of up to $15,000 from grape sales.
Pelosi also owns a second Napa Valley property worth $1 million which is rented out for up to $50,000 a year according to her financial disclosure forms.
A second rental property worth up to $5 million is located in the upscale Sugar Bowl Ski Resort near Norden, California.
How San Francisco became a crime-ridden ‘hellhole’ thanks to woke DAs and politicians: Open-air drug markets, rampant homelessness and a crime rate so bad people carry BASEBALL BATS to protect themselves, as Pelosi’s husband is attacked in their $6M home
San Francisco’s disturbing violent crime trends are once again in the spotlight after Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was brutally assaulted in the city by a home invader wielding a hammer.
Paul Pelosi, 82, is expected to recover from his injuries following the attack early on Friday in the couple’s Pacific Heights home, and the speaker was not at home at the time.
The motive for the attack remains under investigation, and the 32-year-old male assailant is in police custody. Sources told the Associated Press the attack was not random, and said the attacker specifically targeted the Pelosi residence.
Upscale Pacific Heights, where the Pelosis own a home valued at $6 million, has not been immune from San Francisco’s crime wave, and in recent months a nearby neighbor revealed how he was robbed at gunpoint outside his own mansion in the area.
Major crimes in San Francisco are up 7.4 percent so far this year from the same period in 2021, with assault up 11.1 percent and robbery up 5.2 percent.
Amid scenes of misery on city streets, where drug use is brazen and homelessness is rampant, a recent poll found that a majority of San Franciscans believe their city is going down hill, and a third plan to leave the city within three years.
Some residents blame Mayor London Breed, whose earlier popularity for steering the city through the pandemic appears to have waned amid rising crime, the fentanyl epidemic and other woes.
Frustration with San Francisco’s decline has intensified in recent months, with the ejection of progressive DA Chesa Boudin in a recall election following community outrage over his perceived soft policies.
In recent months, Asian Americans have staged protests and disrupted traffic, angered by cops failing to protect them and prosecute hate crimes, particularly against elderly members of the city’s sizeable community.
As violent crime soars in San Francisco, some residents blame Mayor London Breed (center), whose earlier popularity for steering the city through the pandemic appears to have waned
Major crimes in San Francisco are up 7.4 percent so far this year from the same period in 2021
San Franciscans arm themselves with baseball bats and stun guns for walk to work
Earlier this month, some San Francisco commuters revealed they are arming themselves with baseball bats and stun guns after a newly-opened drug sobering facility drew violent addicts to a previously peaceful neighborhood.
Residents of the SoMa neighborhood in northeast San Francisco are voicing outrage, saying ever since the SoMa RISE drug sobering center opened in June, ‘troublemakers’ have plagued the neighborhood.
Residents told Fox News that rather than tempering drug usage, the center has done little more than draw heavy users to the neighborhood.
With those users comes crime, residents said, which casts a pall of danger over the neighborhood.
The center was opened with the help of Democratic San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who characterized it as a safe haven for addicts looking to get back on their feet.
Mayor Breed’s office characterized SoMa as a ‘safe indoor space’ for addicts to ‘get off the streets’ and regather themselves and ‘stabilize.’
But SoMa resident and business owner Mark Sackett said things were not playing out nearly as the city intended.
‘They’re letting their clients come out here and get high, go inside and get sober and then get high again,’ Sackett told ABC7.
San Franciscans in the SoMa neighborhood have taken to carrying around defensive weapons after a drug ‘sobering’ clinic moved into the neighborhood. Pictured: Homeless people are seen in San Francisco in July
The SoMa RISE center was opened in the SoMa neighborhood in northeast San Francisco in June
The SoMa RISE clinic was opened in June, with San Francisco Mayor London Breed characterizing it as a place to let addicts get on their feet
Another resident, only identified as Ghis, gave a similar account to ABC7.
‘More troublemakers settling in, feeling comfortable doing their drugs, pissing and s****ting in the street blocking the sidewalks,’ Ghis said, adding the neighborhood was going through ‘a period of insanity.
Another local named Bill said the trouble started when the center opened, and that ever since he has wondered whether he was in danger every time he left home to go to work.
‘Every morning it’s a roulette. When you show up at your office, are there going to be 10 people passed out in front of your building?’ he said. ‘Are they going to be violent? This was never a problem before HealthRight 360 moved in.’
‘If you ask me, it should be closed down and there should be other approaches to the homeless and drug problem we’re all facing,’ Bill added.
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